What About Brian - The Complete Series (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)This series initially started two different ways: J.J. Abrams (creator of "Lost" and "Alias") trying to go back to his roots of simple relationship drama (year ago he created the WB hit "Felicity"); as well as Jeff Judah and Jason Katism (of "Life as We Know It" and "Freaks and Geeks" fame) trying to produce a show with their signature quirks, yet one with a premise appealing enough were they wouldn't get cancelled after 13 episodes. And so "What about Brian" was born.
The show was simple enough: Brian (Barry Watson from "7th Heaven") is a serial-dater that has never been able to keep a girlfriend around longer than several weeks. Upon the engagement of his best-friend he finds himself as a 7th-wheel among his closest friends (including his college roommate/business partner and his much-older sister). The series follows as Brian tries to search out love, as well as the various romantic entanglements/problems that his various friends find themselves in such as: affairs, new business ventures, single-parenthood, engagement, etc.. Essentially the show was about a group of early thirty-something's trying to not only make their mark on the world, but trying to share their success with "that someone special" and all the hilarity and heartache that comes with the territory.
Unfortunately for the creators and ABC, while the premise was interesting, the actors/characters likable, their was always something missing from the series. That special SPARK that a series needs in order to find itself on the lineup for the better part of a decade was missing. After airing 6 our of the produced 8 for its first season the network pulled the show, re-staffed a majority of the producers/writers, fired an actors/hired three additional actors... basically all in an effort to make the show what it could be. And while yes, the second season is an immensely pleasing 19-episode arc ultimately the series was doomed from the beginning. And like similar shows of the past (such as "once and again" which had many of the same producers) the show was never able to find a following and it was canceled due to low-ratings.
That is not to say the show is bad in any way. In fact it's highly enjoyable, its just easy to tell why people would prefer to watch it in one or two sittings, vs. weekly over the course of a year. Presented here on 5 DVDs are all 25 aired episodes (the 2 unaired episodes leftover from season 1 are not included) along with deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes interviews.


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They are people you know, juggling life and love just as you do.From the producers of Lost and Alias comes the witty and seductive drama The Chicago Tribune calls "breezy, bittersweet and infectious." Step into the middle of a circle of friends who experience the world from the inside out.Trying to find your way in the cut-throat city of Los Angeles can break the strongest soul.However, Brian (Barry Watson, 7th Heaven) and his friends lean on each other as their relationships become more intense and they discover that the truth that stings can, sometimes, be your salvation. Find out what you’ve been missing as you join the journey from the very beginning with every episode of What About Brian’s first two seasons in this 5-disc box set. And uncover even more about Brian with behind-the-scenes bonus features available only on DVD.

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We Were the Mulvaneys (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)This 2002 TV movie is based on a Joyce Carol Oates novel that won some accolades a few years ago. I usually like Joyce Carol Oates and tried to read the book. But I was bored and just couldn't get into it. I always did wonder, however, how the story turned out. And so I was glad to see it was on DVD.

Starring Blythe Danner as the mother and Beau Bridges as the father, we first meet the Mulvaneys as a happy family with four teenage children. It's storybook happiness, the kind that doesn't happen in real life and now I know why I was bored with the book. And then, when something bad happens, it tears the family apart. In a matter of weeks, all the happiness goes down the drain and each family member suffers in his or her own way. The audience suffers too as this part goes on and on and on with one misfortune leading to another until several years pass and the father is dying. By now, everyone is miserable. But this seems to lead the family to reconciliation and a new beginning.

The film is pure soap opera and rather depressing. However, it moved quickly and I got involved in the story, wanting to see how it would all turn out. Later, I wondered what it was that held my interest and I think it was the way it was paced and the excellent acting although it doesn't even make the playing field of good film drama.

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WE WERE THE MULVANEYS - DVD Movie

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The War at Home - The Complete First Season (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)This was without a doubt a highly underrated comedy series....but unfortunally, it was so underrated & overlooked that after having it change timeslots various times during the two season that the show was eventually cancelled & I highly doubt that there will be a season 2 DVD set so this is all that we're going to get of this show. This show is about two middle aged adults with teenagers trying to raise them up while dealing with real life situations. This isn't like the other television shows of this nature as this one takes on the issues dead on using dark comedy & takes on real life issues going on in today's society regarding teenagers & adults not only through real life but also through confessionals (ala "Real World"), flashbacks, and flash-fowards. From interracial dating & the race issues involved with it, cyber sex, drugs & alcohol, cosmetic surgery, teenage sex, punishing your kids, the male ego, homosexuality & more. With Dave & Vicky being middleaged parents with their own adult problems along with their kids in Larry who's parents think he's gay & his best friend/neighbor Kenny who actually is gay with a crush on Larry; Hillary the typical sexy teenage daughter who's more into dating than school; Mike is the youngest who's about video games & hormones whenever he's not trying to hustle/blackmail his dad;...it's just got the formula for a good comedy & this show is just that. With DVD extras being deleted scenes & confessionals from the cast & crew (right in the same humor as the actual episodes)...I recommend to pick this up as this is probably the last trace of this underrated TV show that you'll see.


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When Dave and Vicky were growing up, their parents had it easy. Back then, there were no "time-outs," no one had any "boundaries" and their parents had no idea what their kids were really up to. Now Dave and Vicky have teenagers of their own, and anything their kids might even think about doing, Dave and Vicky have already done at least twice. But knowledge isn't power; it's a giant pain as every day is a battle to keep their kids in line. Fifteen-year-old Larry isn't exactly a frequent diner at the 'cool kids' table in the cafeteria, while 16-year-old Hillary is a know-it-all and is just emerging onto the dating scene. Meanwhile, thirteen-year-old Mike is all hormones and video games. Dave and Vicky figure if they can send these three off to college without a police record or kids of their own, they've done their job. This witty, irreverent show goes inside the heads of a modern family through the use of a confessional space where the characters reveal everything they could never actually say to one another. DVD Features:Deleted ScenesDeleted ScenesFeaturette:Living Room Confessions ? All new featurette with cast and crew Gag Reel

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